.jpg)
This man, Tom Martell, won with a deck designed by Sam Black.
Tom Martell (Team SCG), won his first Pro Tour with a deck entitled The Aristocrats due to the fact that it took advantage of the playset of Cartel and Falkenrath Aristocrat. The deck was very creature synergy-based, cementing in my mind that the response "But Wrath" can no longer be used as an acceptable defence against creature based decks. Wraths are still awesome though.
Deck named Aristocrats, you say? I'm just going to leave these here...
The first ever female to make the top 8 happened this weekend. It was Melissa DeTora, playing Bant Control, using the ever present power of Thragtusk, Restoration Angel and Sphinx's Revelation to make the game go long before alpha-striking with the 2-of Kessig Wolf Run that the deck splashed Red for. DeTora didn't make the Pro Tour in the normal fashion instead she was one of the Special Invites that Wizards gave out. By Top 8ing, she reinforces the decision by Wizards and cements the Special Invitation programme.
The Stellar Performers
The weapons of Bant Control.
The synergy between Restoration Angel and Thragtusk is disgustingly powerful. Thragtusk was probably played in just about every successful deck playing Green other than Saito-Gruul, allowing the decks to stabilise whilst continuing to be resilient against removal.
Also, as a result of the R/G decklist, Tomoharu Saito posted on Twitter, Restoration Angel suddenly became a lot better. Simply stone-walling all the 3/3s, that the deck was running as well as returning value with the blinking of cards like Thragtusk, Augur of Bolas and Snapcaster Mage.
Sphinx's Revelation is quite possibly the best card in Standard at the moment, providing a means to draw the game out and refuel the control decks. It is incredibly hard for an aggressive deck to beat it once it has been cast for 4 or more.
The weapons of Esper Control - In addition to Sphinx's Revelation and Restoration Angel, these cards made up the bulk of the action for the Esper control deck.
Augur of Bolas allowing you to gum up the ground against aggro decks whilst usually replacing itself, make sure you remember the card that your opponent sees is key, as they will doubtless endeavour to play around it.
Snapcaster Mage, whilst less effective here than it is was in the heyday of U/W Delver (a deck crammed with cheap instants and sorceries) is nevertheless still extremely powerful, allowing you to flashback... Sphinx's Revelation.
Nephalia Drownyard is the win-con that you don't even have to cast. Ben Stark (Channel Fireball Pro Tour semifinalist) decided it was so good that he wanted to run 4 of them, all in the main. The card is incredibly well positioned against opposing Sphinx's Revelation decks allowing you to turn their card draw against them. The instant speed activation of this win-con, whilst seemingly obvious, is also highly relevant in comparison with the sorcery speed creatures a lot of decks use to close out the game. It allows you to hold up Azorius Charm and/or counters without time walking yourself if your opponent plays nothing or doesn't attack.
Boros Charm - the Supreme Verdict counter, the one sided Flame Rift and the combat trick. Rarely will the double strike, inflict greater damage to the face than the burn (5 power guy or greater). The card is was maindecked by some and sideboarded by many.
Azorius Charm was another highly rated card that Ben Stark said to possibly be the best card in the deck, allowing you to both stall for time when under and pressure and smooth your draws, when not. The creatures you control have lifelink, whilst probably not the commonly used mode for Ben's deck was definitely exploited by others. It also saw play in Melissa DeTora's Bant Control deck for similar reasons. The U/W/R deck may have played it for the same purpose but...
Boros Reckoner, on the face of it clearly a great card. Almost always a 2-for-1, not easy to block due to the first strike. But that's not all. Azorius Charm (for lifelink) + Boros Charm (for indestructibility) + Boros Reckoner + any damage source = Infinite life. You take the damage that the Reckoner would deal and deal it to itself repeatedly. This will probably win the game in all but the Esper matchup. Finalist Joel Larsson also played a copy of Moment of Heroism, to act as 5th copy of Azorius Charm emulating the lifelink given by it.
The Surprises
Gerry Thompson, who Top 8'ed, ran a 1-of Harvest Pyre in the deck. Why this innocuous piece of subpar Innistrad limited removal? Well, you've already seen the reason. Boros Reckoner. Assuming, you have a Reckoner on the field, you can simply target it with this, exile your graveyard and burn your opponent to death. Is it in your graveyard because of Thought Scour or Nephalia Drownyard? Well, just Snapcaster it back.
More limited fodder?
Another odd one from the Channel Fireball team, but they said their deck needed some unconditional "removal". This fitted the bill, the life-gain is not irrelevant in the early game against aggressive decks and in the late game in can be used to resest any number of enter-the-battlefield triggers of your creatures.
Wait, what the fudgecrackers?
Sooo, Pyschic Spiral. The game is drawing to an end, the Drownyard deck has you. They mill you, you have no cards in library. You untap, upkeep, Snapcaster Mage, flashback the Psychic Spiral they just millled you with and that's game but you win.
So the removal is this bad in the format, that 3 mana kill spells have to be run. Gah, this was present as a 1-of Owen Turtenwald's deck who made Top 8 with Team SCG.
Its not all gloom and doom if you have this guy.
Another adjustment of the format to the Tomoharu Saito Gruul list was this sideboard innovation, the control deck puts this down turn 2 on the play, the aggro deck is either going to have to miss its 2 or 3 drop to burn this, which is clearly counter-productive, or is going to brickwalled by it.
Hmm, Gisela jokes?
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the format has reached the point that this card is considered a finisher. In current Standard, it is a fine choice against the aggro decks from the sideboard as they would have to expend Mizzium Mortars on this card in order to kill it. Melissa DeTora ran this as a 1-of in the sideboard.
Apparently, Underworld Connections doesn't always get the job done. Gets Lingering Souls and Snapcasters well. In the sideboard of Owen Turtenwald's deck.
Activates morbid, creates demon. Dante: "Fuck you!"
I didn't get to see this in action during the course of the weekend and it seems an odd choice as the Aristocrats deck seems like it wants to be continuously attacking and so wouldn't have time to make the 5/5. But perhaps that is the case when the deck is on the defensive against the faster aggro decks. 2-of in the main deck of The Aristocrats, 1 in the board.
4 in one list in the top 8. I wasn't expecting it to perform but clearly they found the right deck for it.
